Motor device for electric clocks.



J, GRANZ,

MOTOR DEVICE FOR ELECTRIC CLOCKS.

APPLICATION FILED JAE. 22, 1909.

Paten t ed Jan. 4, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1. I

J GRANZ'.

MOTOR DEVICE FOR ELECTRIC CLOCKS APPLICATION FILED JAN, 22, 1909.

Patented J an. 4, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEBT 2.

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v Unrrnfi STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH G I t NZ, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

To all it may concern:

and State of IllinoisQhave invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Motor Devices. for Electric Clocks, of which the fol lowing is'.a specification.

Thisv invention relates to. electric .clocks, I

and more especially to what are known as self-windin clocks, wherein the clockwork mechanism 15 actuated by a spring or weight, the energy of which is periodically restored through the agency of an electromagnet and automatic mechanism. for energizing the lat-' ter once every minute orat other uniform intervals. Automatic self-winding clocks of this type have gone into quite extensive use; but the present state of the, art thereon leaves much to be desired in the way of simplicity and reliability of operation. This is especiallytrue in respect to the means hitherto employed for automatically making and breaking the electric circuit through the magnet whereby the energy of the clock motor is periodically renewed or restored.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved and simplified electrically actuated mechanism for'periodically rewinding the motor spring of a spring-actuated clock train with certainty and reliability of action; and the mechanism whereby this object'is carried out will be readily understood when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings which illustrate one practical embodiment of the invention, and in which,-

Figure 1 is afront elevational view of my improved self-winding clock -mechanism. Fig. 2 is a' horizontal sectional view on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1, looking downwardly. Figs. 3 and 4 are detail elevational views illustrating different positions assumed by the contact devices controlling the energizing and denergizing of the magnet. Fig. 5 is a'detail elevation of the motor spring of the clock movement and the arts lmmediately cooperating therewith. ig. 6 is a side elevatlon of the clock movement as .viewed from the'left of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, 6 designates an upright frame-plate that may be secured to the front wall of the clock case, as by screws 7, on the upper. portion of which frameplate is mounted a. frame 8 containing an Specification of Letters Patent. x .1 Application filed January 22, 1909. Serial No. 473,730.

ASSIGNOR T0 TRINITY ELECTRIC CLOCK MOTOR DEVICE FOR ELECTRIC CLOCKS.

Patented Jan. 4, 1910.

. I ordinary clock train. Secured to. the lower portion of the frame-plate 6 is a horizontal rectangular frame comprisin a forwardly projecting bar 9, a forwarc ly projecting post10, and a cross-bar 11 connecting the projecting ends of said bar and post. Suitably secured to and supported upon the bar 9 are the twin spools 12 of an ordinary electromagnet, the cores of which are shown at 13.

14 designates an armature that it pivoted at its ends in and between the frame-plate 6 and cross-bar 11, said armature having an upwardly extending arm .15 projecting in front of the frame carrying the clock train; said armature and its upwardly extending arm unitedly constituting in effect an armature lever. A spring 16 connected at one end to a post 17 projecting fromthe frameplate (land at its other end connected to a short arm 18 on the armature 14 normally draws the armature lever away from the cores of the magnet.

19 designates a rigid central transverse shaft extending between the usual parallel front and rear frame-plates of the clock mechanism, and projecting rearwardly of the rear frame-plate, on the projecting end of which shaft is loosely journaled by a central hub 20 a'disk 21 that has a radially projecting arm 22 in which is pivoted a pawl 23 -that,'in turn, is normally urged by a spring 24 into engagement with the periphery of a ratchet disk 25 also loosely 'mounted on the shaft 19, which ratchet disk is suitably geared, through the various gears and pinions of the clock train to the usual hour and minute arbors of the clock movement. The disk 21 is normally impelled in a direction to drive the ratchet disk 25 through its arm 22 and pawl 23 by means' of a coil spring 26 (Fig. 5) the inner end of which is connected to the hub 20 of the disk 21, while its other end is secured to a pin 27 mounted in a cross-bar 28-of the frame. Preferably, and as hereinshown, th fsdisk 21 is formed with a pair of oppositely extending arms 29.carrying at their outeiiends weights 30, whereby a degree of momentum is imparted to the disk 21 when thrown backwardly to rewind the spring, said disk with its weighted arms 6 constituting a tensioning device for the motor spring of the clock movement. I

The magnet is, as usual in clocks of this the wire ll and the contact point. -13 carried character, interposed in a normally open- 1 points 38 and 43 before the weighted disk I 21 has reached the lnmt of its backward battery circuit. The circuit wire 31 leading from one pole of the battery 50 is electrically connected by a binding screw 32 with a short conductor strip 33 screwed to but insulated from the frame-bar 11, one end of the magnet winding being connected to the other end of said conductor strip 33, as shown at 31-. The other end of the magnet winding is connected by an insulated wire with a contact strip 36 secured to but insulated from the upstanding arm of the armature, as shown at 37-. The upper end of the strip 36 is bent over the upper end of the arm, forming the contact point 38, said bent-over end of the strip being insulated from the arm, as shown at.39 and 40. The other pole of the battery is connected'to the frame-bar ll through circuit wire ll; .the metallictrame-plate 6 and fame of the clock-work constituting the conductor tor the current between the binding iost 41-2 of by a laterally projecting lug it on the disk 21. From this it will be seen that, with the parts of the mechanism in the relative positions shown in Fig. l the spring 26, acting through the disk 21, arm 22, pawl 23, and ratchet disk 25, will drive the clock train until the disk 21 is rotated to a position, as shown in Fig. 3, wherein the contact 43 engages the contact 38. At the instant that these contacts come together the circuit is closed through the magnet, the armatur and its arm are drawn toward the core of the magnet with a sudden quick movement, and the impulse imparted by the blow of the upper end of the arm 15 through the contacts 38 and 43 and the contact lug 4-4 partially rotates the disk 21 in a backward direction, rewinding the spring 26. action, the weights 50 carried by the arms 29 impart their momentum to the disk 21, in this way distributing the energy of the blow in point of time, and causing a backward rotation of the disk 21 to an extent depending upon the power of the blow; the pawl 23 in this way taking a fresh hold on the ratchet at the limit of the backward movement of the disk. Fig. 1 shows a1- proximately the initial driving position of the pawl 23, corresponding to the position to which it is thrown by the stroke of the arm 15. This action, of course, separates the contacts l3 and 38, again interrupting the circuit through the magnet, and thus allowing the arm 15 to be instantly drawn back to normal position under theintluence Oi the retracting spring 16, whereupon the above-described operations are repeated.

In order to insure the deenergizing of the magnet. instantly upon the conclusion of the working stroke of the armature arm as abovedcscribed, l employ a device which automat- In this turning movement. This device, as herein shown, consists of a screw 45 which is tapped.

through a transversely apertured lug 46 on the face of the disk 21; and the screw 45 so disposed relatively to the contact l8 that, during the backward turning movement of the disk 21, the inner end or point of the screw comes into cngagcn'ient with the arm 15 and, in so doing, reduces the extent of movement of the contact point 38 relatively to that of the contact point 4-3 so as to instantly ell'ect a separation between said contact-points, owing to the faster rateoit travel (it the contact-point 43, as clearly shown in Fig. 14, wherein, during the inward stroke of the arm 15, it has met the point of the screw and been retarded so that the contactpoint 43 has run in advance of the contactpoint 38, thus separating the contacts and in suring the breaking of the circuit, the deenergizing of the magnet, and the retraction of the armature arm by the springltl. This last-named device I regard as of great importance in the invention in the direction of insuring the reliability and efficiency of the spring actuating said armature-lever in the opposite direction,-a tens'ioning device for the motor spring of the clock movement also in said battery-circuit, said tensioning device being actuated by said armature-lever, and. cooperating circuit contact devices carried by said tensioning device and armaturelever, respectively, substantially as described. i I

2. Thetombination with a spring-actu atcd clock movement, of an electro-magnet, a normally open battery-circuit in which. said magnet is included, a spring-retracted armature-lever, a rotary tensioning device for the motor spring of the clock movement also in said battery-circuit, said tensioning device being actuated by the stroke of said armature-lever when the circuit is closed and themagnet energized, and cooperating ically effects the separation of the contact ated clock movement, of an electro-magnet,

a normally open battery-circuit in which said magnet is included, a sprii'ig-retracted armature-lever, a rotary tensioning device for the motor spring of the clock movement also in said battery-circuit, said tensioning device being actuated by the stroke of said armature-lever When the circuit isclosed and the magnet energized, momentum-imparting means carried by said'rotary tensioning device, and cooperating circuit contact-devices carriedby, said tensioning device andarrnature-lever, respectively, substantially as described. v

at. The combination with a spring-actuated clock movement, of an electro-magnet, a -normally"openi battery-circuit in which said magnet is included, a spring-retracted arm.ature-lever,;a tensioning dev ce for the motor spring of the clock movement also in said battery-circuit, said tensioningdevice being actuated by said armature-lever, cooperating circuit contact devices carried by said tensioning device and armature-lever, respectively, and a contact-breaking I device brought into action during the Working a stroke of said arniature lever, substantially as described. I g r 5.-'The vcombination with a clock-move- -ment gear train, of an electro-magnet, a

normally open batterycircuit in which saidmagnet is included, a spring-retracted .armature-lever, a motor spring for said W V, I gear train, a movable tensioning device for said motor spring connected toone end of the latter also in said battery-circuit, said tensioning devicerbeing actuated by said amture-lever, cooperating circuit contact 3 devlces' carried by said tensioning device and armature-lever, respectively, and a pawl and ratchet dllVlIlgCOIlIlt-ECUOII besa1d gear 6. The combination With-Ia clock-movement gear train, of an ele'ctro-magnet, a

normally open battery-circuit in which said magnet is included, "a springretractedarmature-lever, a motor spring for said gear train, a movable tensioning device for said motor spring connected to one end of thelatter also in said battery-circuit, said tensioning device being actuated by saidarmature-lever, cooperating circuit contact devices carried by said tensioning device and armature-lever, respectively, a "pawl and ratchet driving connection between said tensioning device and said gear train, and an adjustable contact breaking device brought into' action duringthe Working stroke of said armature lever, substantially as described.

JOSEPH GRANZ.

Witnesses:

SAMUEL N. POND, ,MATTIE B. Buss. 

